Should I seal high-gloss marble floor tile?

Question

I just installed 12" marble tile (it's a high gloss marble called creama marfil) on the kitchen and bathroom floors.

I know the grout lines are supposed to be sealed, but is the high gloss marble suppose to be sealed too? I used some expensive stuff from Lowe's to seal the grout and marble tile, but it doesn't seem like it's doing a good job on the tile. In fact it came out a little dull on the tile. Before the tile was nice and smooth with a high shine to it. Now it's a little dull and not as smooth. 

Is there a trick to sealing high gloss marble floor tile? Or does it need to be sealed at all? I'm thinking that maybe I should just seal the grout lines and leave the tile unsealed?

Thanks.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

You absolutely must seal ANY natural stone tile including marble. All stone is porous and WILL absorb liquids and can easily be stained by acidic items such as mustard and other foods and oils! If the sealer you put on dulled the floor it is most likely the wrong type of sealer for your marble. I recommend Sealers Choice Gold 15 by Aquamix to seal both the marble and the grout. The shine on the marble comes from a mechanical grinding, sanding and polishing process not from a topical product. Be VERY sure that the cleaner you use on this is a low pH non acidic cleaner made for natural stone. Most other cleaners (yes including dish soap and Windex) are mildly acidic and will slowly remove the sealer and with any porous stone the improper cleaner can make your beautiful new floor a maintenance problem. Be very sure never to use any kinds of acids on your marble as they will not clean problem areas but will ruin the surface of the stone. It can be repaired if this were to happen but would cost  at least $5.00 to $6.00 per square foot to have done. With proper care you have an especially beautiful floor that will give you great pleasure for a lifetime.

? · Answer

Sealing Marble Tile

Anonymous · Answer

Normally your tile does not need sealing.If you had purchased a waterproof grout it would not need sealing either.But you can use a waterproof Polyutherane sealer. Especially helpful in bathrooms,where there might be water leakage. There shouldn't be any loss of sheen on your tiles.My advice to you would be to enquire at Tile store. It may be worthwhile putting sealer over top of tile,but usually it isn't neccessary.Good Luck!

Anonymous · Answer

since the marble is high gloss it is already sealed. Marble is pourus and has no shine before the factory seals it.  The grout lines shouldn't be sealed for about a week after it's installed and don't walk on the grout lines 24 hour after sealing and don't mop for about 1 week after sealing the grout lines.  Sealant needs to penetrate and it takes time to do that.  but the high gloss marble is fine.

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Should I seal high-gloss marble floor tile?

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